Benelli has been working on the number 1 issue with shotguns used for waterfowl shooting, rust and corrosion, for 10 years and has come up with a solution: the Benelli Surface Treatment (BE.S.T).
The Benelli BE.S.T finish can not only prevent rust and corrosion from attacking the shotgun, but it can also help protect the gun from abrasion. Benelli are molecularly applying this finish to the barrel (the bore is chrome-lined to provide additional protection) , barrel extension and select internal components.
The finish on all of these components is backed up by a 25 year warranty and you can see why in the following tests. When subjected to a salt water fog test a blued barrel has an accumulation of rust over the entire barrel, however a barrel coated with the BE.S.T finish was subjected to 200 hours in the same conditions and showed no signs of rust. Benelli went one step further than this and exposed a BE.S.T barrel to saltwater, after three consecutive months there was no sign of rust or corrosion. Barrels that have received this treatment have also been placed under a steel brush wheel without showing any damage, in fact they only showed signs of polishing.
Benelli “developed a hybrid PVD/PECVD machine that uses diamond-like carbon particles applied with a high-vacuum plasma nanotechnology” to apply the finish. In order to protect the mechanical integrity of the steel components the finish can be applied at low temperatures. Importantly, the entire process is environmentally friendly and no chemical by-products are produced.
The Super Black Eagle 3 and the ETHOS shotguns are now being offered with this revolutionary finish.
